Support to the Implementation of the Judicial Reform in Armenia

Council of Europe Project “Support to the implementation of judicial reform in Armenia”, CCBE and the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia

The Council of Europe, the CCBE and the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia is organising the conference with the aim to provide a platform for sharing information and experience on the current challenges of the bars and law societies, explore detrimental issues in the bar associations and propose concrete steps for strengthening the cooperation and ties amongst the bar associations and law societies of the Council of Europe member states.

The main objective of the Conference is to facilitate a dialogue and exchange of the best practice between the bars and law societies of different Council of Europe member states. The exchange that will take place between professionals from different countries shall create a solid platform for argumentation and it seeks to generate – and contribute to – a wider debate about the potential improvements in the bar associations and for the profession of an advocate. Even if the directions and the policies of the bar reforms may differ from country to country, discussion on the primary concepts and challenges unites different Council of Europe member states.

The scope of the Conference: The one day-long discussion will include presentations by leading members of CCBE, experts and representatives of bars and law societies of different Council of Europe member states.

European convention outlining both the obligations and rights of lawyers could take a step closer today as a Council of Europe body prepares to vote on whether to draft an agreement.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made up of members of parliament from the council’s 47 member states, are discussing a convention on the profession of lawyer at a meeting in Strasbourg.

Legal professional bodies are backing the idea. The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) said the convention, if approved, should focus on legal professional privilege and the independence of legal professions and their representative bodies. It should emphasise the obligations on national authorities to respect and protect the free exercise of the profession and to promote the profession’s role in ensuring the effectiveness of the judicial system, protecting human rights and the rule of law.

PACE rapporteur, Sabien Lahaye Battheu, said a string of attacks on lawyers has taken place in the past 12 months alone. They include police raids on the home of a Greek lawyer representing Syrian refugees a Georgian lawyer being assaulted by a chief of police after giving advice to his client. Last year, hundreds of lawyers were detained after the failed coup in Turkey.

Chair of the barristers’ profession in England and Wales Andrew Walker QC said ’hard international law’ is needed to protect lawyers who are subject to threats and attacks from state agencies and individuals.

‘In the last two years we have seen a slew of attacks on legal professionals. These are often carried out by state actors attempting to prevent lawyers from doing the crucial job of enforcing the legal and human rights of their citizens and of holding Governments to account,’ he said. ‘We are urging the 18 UK MPs and peers who sit in the Parliamentary Assembly to vote in favour of drawing up this convention. We would like to see the UK continue to take the lead in upholding it on the world stage, and to use its influence at an international level to foster agreement and clarity on what the rule of law means and how it can be sustained in practice.’

The CCBE has been working since last year on the issue of a European Convention on the profession of lawyer. This work was initiated following a motion signed by several members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), inviting the Committee of Ministers to initiate work on the drafting of a European Convention on the profession of lawyer.

The CCBE supports this work and considers that such an instrument is needed in order to respond to the attacks against the role of lawyers which have grown over the recent years (see full CCBE position ENFR).

The report drafted by the rapporteur of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights was adopted unanimously on 12 December 2017 and underlines the need for such a Convention (see adopted report ENFR).

The next step will be for the PACE to vote on the draft recommendation adopted by the Committee, which requests the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to draft and adopt such a convention.

The CCBE will hold a Side Event on 24 January (1-2 pm) in Strasbourg, in conjunction with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) session

The main objective of this Side Event entitled “Threatened lawyers: the end of the Rule of Law in Europe?” is to convince PACE members of the need for a European Convention on the profession of lawyer.

The CCBE Side Event will highlight the increasing attacks on lawyers in Council of Europe States with concrete testimonies from lawyers, who have themselves been victims of human rights violations. The CCBE will also explain why a European Convention on the profession of lawyer is needed in order to counter those attacks, and allow lawyers to play their essential role as actors in the system of justice and to contribute to protecting the Rule of Law.

Please see attached the programme and a brief summary entitled “Why a European Convention on the profession of lawyer is needed”.

If you wish to participate in the Side Event, please let me know by 16 January, at the latest in order to establish your access badges to the Council of Europe building – registrations after this date will not be accepted by the Council of Europe.

Please note that the number of external participants (i.e. non parliamentarians) is limited to 30.

Please also note that the Side Event will be in English (with interpretation in Russian).

Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), which represents more than 1 million European lawyers, wrotea letter to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to urge the release of Turkish lawyers in prison.

Signed by CCBE President, Ruthven Gemmell, the letter expressed concern regarding the recent convictions of 20 Turkish lawyers in Konya, including the former head of the Konya Bar Association, Fevzi Kayacan, who was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

Gemmell also raised concerns on the torture and ill treatment of lawyers in detention. The letter notes that the president of Progressive Lawyers Association, Selçuk Kozağaçlı, who has been representing the Soma Mine Disaster Victims and political prisoners on hunger strike, was beaten during detention.

The council also provided the number of lawyers under criminal prosecution in Turkey as 1433, and lawyers arrested since the coup attempt in July 2016 as 555.

“CCBE respectfully urges your Excellency to ensure that all the lawyers mentioned above are released immediately as it is believed that their detention is solely motivated by their activities as lawyers. In addition, the CCBE asks you to take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of lawyers in Turkey as well as their ability to perform their professional duties without fear of reprisal, hindrance, intimidation or harassment.”